Microbrew Mondays: North Coast Brewing Co. Pranqster

I purchased a 4 pack of Pranqster from Trader Joes and wasn’t convinced of its worthiness until I cracked open the third one a week after drinking the first two. I was originally drawn to Pranqster due to its packaging revealing a joyous scene of grotesquely obese men drinking in a tavern in what appears to be the 18th century. The bottle itself is short and fat which only adds to the humor.

Pranqster pours a straw yellow color and quickly forms an off white head.  There is a slight haze that clouds the glass. The aroma is sweet, almost fruit like, with plenty of yeast filling in the undertones. I can’t quite place my finger on which fruit, but I get hints of banana or perhaps star fruit. The taste is immediately sweet as the malt and yeast flavors form a tornado on your palate. The taste quickly fills your entire mouth before disappearing, leaving behind a haunting memory of the beer that was (I know that was deep. Thank you for your appreciation). There is almost a dirty feel to this beer without ever being unpleasant. I wouldn’t quite place this beer on the heavy end of things, but this is by no means a thin or light beer. Perhaps the best way to describe this beer is medium bodied with a lifetime membership to the gym.

I like this beer quite a bit. It’s fun and refreshing. I made multiple attempts to extract any specific flavors, but the beer kept changing its mind as to what it was. At first, it was a general blonde beer that anyone could enjoy, at other times, it was a guest speaker from a bakery, and other times, transformed to something else altogether. I appreciate a beer where different flavors emerge at different times. It’s makes it much more fun. You can find Pranqster in 4 packs for around $7 or in 750ml corked bottles. The 7.6% ABV should keep you plenty entertained. But be warned, it sneaks up on your quickly and all at once. In the fine art of the Belgian tradition, this is a well crafted ale that I would be happy to serve to my close friends.

Grade: B

Microbrew Mondays: Allagash Curieux (100th Post)

I want to first mention that this is my 100th post on Adventures in Food. I originally started with a goal of posting 100 recipes and insights in a year, and I’m happy to report that I made it with just a week to spare. Thank you for supporting my blog and please continue to visit my site. Thank you for everyone that has shared my posts on your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and if you have not, it really does help spread the word. Thank you again.

Having “bashed” Allagash White, my best friend purchased a trio of Allagash bottles for me. I plan to post the last of the bottles next month. Together, we first opened this offering called Allagash Curieux (Bourbon Barrel Aged Tripel).

Curieux pours hazy golden brown that quite resembles watered down bourbon. The bottle says to pour this beer slowly into a tulip glass (complete with diagram) and we quickly found out why. A storm of head forms quickly as this beer is poured and raised to three fingers before I stopped and adjusted my pour. We drank this one warm ish (around 60 degrees) and found that that warmth of the beer brought out more notes of the oak casked bourbon barrels. The flavor originally starts with a big hit of alcohol that is overtaken by strong dried fruit like figs or cherries, and a bit of vanilla. As the flavor subsided, I was hit with that bourbon flavor and there is without a doubt an oak presence Allagash did not want you to forget how they fermented this beer.

I really did quite enjoy this beer and give the people at Allagash big props for creating something crazy unique and recycling Jim Beam barrels in the fermentation process. There is little to critique except that I consider this beer more a treat – liked aged scotch – than an everyday favorite. I also wonder what it would have tasted like just a little bit colder. Would the bourbon flavor come more alive? Would the dried fruit or vanilla flavors pop a little more? At 11% ABV, this is a high alcohol beer that is meant to be enjoyed slowly. Curieux has quite a few price points and I’ve found it for between $13 – $18 for a 750ml bottle. If your ready for an experimental beer, or perhaps have never tried a bourbon barrel aged beer, this is a fine start assuming you can find it in your local store.

Grade: A

Microbrew Mondays: Boulevard The Sixth Glass

In Han Christenson’s short story entitled “Ole the Tower Keeper,” Ole speaks to the narrator about the tradition of New Years Eve and the transition from the old year into the new. He relates a tale about people raising glasses when the clock strikes midnight to bring success into the new year. Each glass has a different meaning.

The first is the glass of good health. Drink this and you will be blessed with good health until the end of the year.

The second brings about a little bird who soars upward with its happy song that gives you both courage and cheer.

The third brings about a little winged urchin with goblin blood who has no intention of harming you. But he will happily play tricks on you. He’ll whisper happy things into your ear so as to keep you merry and warm and provide you wit at parties.

The fourth is the boundary line of sense. Beyond this lies only despair and misfortune.

The fifth will make you weep at yourself and you will forget your dignity (assuming you have any left).

Inside the sixth glass sits a demon:

“And the sixth glass! Yes, in that sits Satan himself, a little, well-dressed charming man who never contradicts you, tells you that you are always right. He comes with a lantern to guide you home! What sort of home, and what sorts of spirits live there? There’s an old legend about a saint who was ordered to choose one of the seven deadly sins, and chose what he thought was the least – drunkenness. But in it he committed all the other six. Man and the devil mixed with blood – that is the sixth glass; and all the evil seeds within us thrive on it, and each of them sprouts with a force like the grain of mustard, in the Bible, and grows into a mighty tree, spreading out over the whole world.”

Happy times.

I came across The Sixth Glass while in Kansas City looking for some local microbrews to take home and feature. I was first drawn to the demon face staring at me from the store shelves and then drawn even further when I read this was a quadruple ale. A quad? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of such a thing. Intrigued, I picked up a four pack.

The Sixth Glass pours a lovely honey amber color. A fair amount of head forms, but there is not enough carbonation for this to get out of control. The foam is dirty is color and dissipates quickly. There is an immediate burst of honey malt flavors that emerge from the glass followed by dried fruits like fig and cherries. My first taste hit me with banana like sweetness and this was overtaken by a wave of additional flavors such as malt and oak as if it were fermented in oak barrels. The aftertaste was a little medicinal like cough syrup, but I attribute this to the intense sweet brown sugar flavor that lingered on my palette. As I drank my way through the glass and the beer warmed, the mouth feel became heavier and the flavors developed more depth.

The Sixth Glass is a suburb beer – plain and simple. The 10% ABV will hit you over the head if you treat this as a guzzler, so I implore you to slow down and savor the flavor. You can find 4 packs of The Sixth Glass for around $10 or in 750ml bottles for $7. I would place this in my top 10 favorite beers of all time, but will still knock it down from A+ status due to the mild medicinal aftertaste. Still, I highly recommend The Sixth Glass as a must try the next time  you’re looking for something new.

So fair readers, the question remains. How many glasses do you enjoy on New Years Eve after the clock struck midnight?

Grade: A